Tuesday, August 30, 2005

DisastrousIt is shocking what happened to the southern part of our country in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Here are some people you can call to help and donate to the cause. It is going to take a lot of time and effort to help these people. If we all do our small part, their suffering will be minimal. I plan on giving blood on Friday and making a small donation to a charity:

More words. More letters. No more Ann Coulter. ... Finally, we've decided that syndicated columnist Ann Coulter has worn out her welcome. Many readers find her shrill, bombastic and mean-spirited. And those are the words used by readers who identified themselves as conservatives.

That's the thing: People are really sick of being yelled at, whether you agree with the opinion of the person screaming or not. I can tell you that I got tired of going to some functions hosted or sponsored by liberal groups which I used to like to go to after I was constantly being accosted for being a white male, the repressor of the world. I tolerated it for a long time. But then, I got sick of it and stopped supporting good people who mean well but are just plain mean sometimes.The sad thing about Coulter and others is that it didn't have to be this way. When President Clinton was in office, I really liked a lot of what Ann Coulter had to say. She was dead-on about the then-predator-in-chief. But then, like so many conservatives who were right to be repulsed by Clinton, they didn't follow through when President Bush did things that were just as offensive. As the slogan on Freeway Blogger goes, "No one died when Clinton Lied." Had those conservatives gone after Bush with the same zeal they went after Clinton, I wouldn't mind some of the outrageous things they'd said. But, they didn't. They fell in line - the same way Democrats and women - fell in line behind Clinton.

Eminent domainI also forgot to post this great story in the Village Voice about the New York Times getting a nice chunk of NYC real estate - by eminent domain: ["'Times' to Commoners: Go Elsewhere"]. This is so outrageous it isn't even funny.

Jehlen wins!Congratulations to my former state representative and aquaintaince Patricia Jehlen who won a hard-fought primary tonight in the 2nd Middlesex District, the seat formerly held by the late Charlie Shannon: ["Charlie Shannon: RIP"]. The district represents my old hometown of Somerville and Winchester, the town I wrote about for more than 2.5 years. She will face Republican Bill White, an alderman from Somerville, but will probably win easily in the Democratic-majority district. Jehlen, a grandmother, won handily by more than 2,000 votes. Jehlen beat a former rep., a governor's councilor, and Winchester's insipid state representative, Paul Casey, who came in last with about 13 percent of the vote.Interestingly, the race came down to which candidate was the most "progressive" and not the usual, which candidate is most "electable." This is a surprising - and pleasant - turn of events for the electorate. It also says a lot about the changing demographics in the district.Somerville and Medford, the bulk of the district, have long been considered blue-collar lunch bucket Reagan Democrat towns. While they are still ruled by some politicians who have the "thug mentality," they have now become more liberal, artistic, and yeah, progressive. This doesn't mean that they are better; just changing. They've historically elected conservative Democrats with good voting records on labor issues. Today, with working folks moving out and yuppies, artists, and intellectuals moving in, the cities are slightly altered from what they once were.Either way - whether labor or artist - Casey just didn't fit in. His lshakyecord was shakey at best, often voting against the interests of working folks in his district. He has consistently been bankrolled by the worst of the worst of Massachusetts' politically-connected, including some of the state's most powerful lobbyists and political action committees. The cocktail doesn't go for that grubby, grab all the money greed stuff.Down the wire, folks were telling me that the race was between Jehlen and former state Rep. Joe Mackey. It was a duel of Somerville's power structure - with Jehlen getting the support of the reform-minded and the progressives; and Mackey getting the support of former Mayor Dot Gay and Charlie's wife Dorothy.Casey was probably the most conservative candidate in the race and that wouldn't be such a bad thing if you stood for something. But he was also out of touch about the needs of the district, and had a condescending way of talking down to people with an "Aw shucks" attitude and smile on his face. In defending himself against criticism that he was too conservative on issues like universal health care, Casey told the Shitty Times Chronicle that "Health care programs are a great idea and it is great to have big goals, but to get there we must go piece by piece." Piece by piece and he hasn't done a thing about it. The true sign of a trust fund baby. Tell that to the folks without health insurance never mind actual care, Paul.But enough beating up on poor Paul. The night is about Grandmother Pat - a worthy successor to fill Charlie's shoes. The district is in safe hands.

Monday, August 29, 2005

Whoa ...The devastation in Katrina's wake is just shocking. Mother Nature just loves to throw the human race the curve ball. God bless the souls which were lost and hope for the best for these people as they rebuild their cities and their lives.

Buchanan: Impeach BushIt is this kinda stuff, along with his thorough and excellent analysis on trade policy, that keeps a warm space in my heart for Pat Buchanan. His mix of radical commonsense and sarcasm has made his material worth reading for quite a long time, no matter what you think of personally. He asks, why no one makes a move to change the reprehensible state of immigration in our country: ["A national emergency"]

What are these Bush Republicans afraid of? Dirty looks from the help at the country club?

Sunday, August 28, 2005

In a recent WND article, it was revealed that the FBI is starting to take a second look at the Oklahoma City Bombing case: ["FBI must turn over investigation docs"]. This section of the article below says it all:

After declining to comment on the civil matters involved in the Trentadue suit, Johnson said the FBI was currently investigating the April 19, 1995, bombing. In the past, Johnson has told the media that the FBI was standing by its original investigation. "It was the most experienced and thorough in our history," he said.The $85 million effort yielded only two federal convictions, Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh. Mike Fortier provided testimony against McVeigh and Nichols in return for a reduced sentence. Asked how many FBI agents were involved in the renewed effort, Johnson simply commented: "We don't ever disclose that type of information." Exactly when this investigation was opened and why remains unclear.

Interestingly, a Google search of this information reveals almost nothing in the mainstream press. The FBI is taking another look at the second most horrific act of terrorism on American soil and no one in the press says a word? Yikes.Is the military targeting journalists?The issue of journalists killed in the line of duty in Iraq has been a touchy one. Some on the left have accused the military of targeting journalists in Iraq; some on the right call those accusations outrageous and have worked to drive people who have made such comments out of their jobs.So much for free speech.I don't know if the military is purposely targeting journalists or not. But I worry about this because I am a journalist. I also do know that it seems that a lot of them are getting killed. And they are getting killed even when the military knows where these journalists are located.Here is the latest round of journalists who were killed in the line of duty by our military: ["US sniper kills Reuters soundman in Iraq"].

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said early August that at least 52 journalists have been killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion to topple Saddam began in March 2003. Another 21 media support staff such as drivers, translators, and security guards have also been killed in the line of duty.

It should also be noted that Reuters staff has been under fire in the country, probably for their coverage of the occupation of Iraq: ["Media Bias in Iraq"].No one is really safe in a war zone. The Red Cross isn't safe; medical personnel aren't safe; why should journalists expect to be safe? However, there should be some amount of safety for people doing their jobs and reporting the news. And you would think that American soldiers would know the difference between a guy with a camera and a guy with a grenade launcher ... unless you don't want the guy with the camera taking pictures for some reason.

Now she tells us?I've been really busy working and enjoying my family so I haven't had much time to blog of late. And I guess, in some ways, that is a pretty good thing because I am really furious about what is going on in Iraq. Not so much that these folks decided that their government should be an Islamic one. Or that American women are dying so that Iraqi women will get few rights. Or that those who don't want to follow the new constitution can bring their complaints to clerics and if the clerics deem the complaints legit, they can throw out the constitution. That seems about as smart as having Pat Robertson given the authority over who should be assasinated and who shouldn't. But this just doesn't seem to be going as well as it should be. One commentator on "Meet the Press" last week hilariously noted that it was okay that women wouldn't be given rights right away because it took America a century to give women rights. Eh, I thought we were supposed to be evolving and using America of the present as an example, not America of the past.Well, here is another person who doesn't think things are quite going so good either ... and she is a Bush supporter: ["Iraqi activist taken up by Bush recants her views"].

When we came back from exile, we thought we were going to improve rights and the position of women. But look what has happened: we have lost all the gains we made over the past 30 years. It's a big disappointment. Human rights should not be linked to Islamic sharia law at all. They should be listed separately in the constitution.

Ouch. She makes a good point in noting that the past 30 years are basically being hit. Yes, Saddam was horrible. Yes, he was a dictator who killed people. But you know what? There was a middle class in Iraq before the first Gulf War - until U.S. Ambassador April Glaspie met with Hussein in July 1990 and basically gave him the green light by saying, "We have no opinion on your Arab - Arab conflicts, such as your dispute with Kuwait," and Hussein invaded and started that first stupid war. The perception that the people of Iraq didn't have it pretty good in the past under Hussein is a false one. Was it ideal? No. Is it ideal now? No. Will it be an ideal democracy after all is said and done? Probably not. It makes all this death and destruction even more difficult to watch.

“I’m not meeting again with that goddamned bitch,” Bush screamed at aides who suggested he meet again with Cindy Sheehan, the war-protesting mother whose son died in Iraq. “She can go to hell as far as I’m concerned!”

Instead, Bush will go to Idaho ["My Private Idaho"], where Philip Zeikow is holding a seminar and he will again brief him on how he didn't know a thing about Usama bin Ladin wanting to fly jets into buildings a month before it actually occurred. Nope, didn't see the papers, didn't happen ...

"No, I have not urged my own children to enlist.I don't know the status of my childrens' potentially enlisting in the Guard and Reserve," Romney said, his voice tinged with anger.

No, his boys are busy jet skiing on Lake Winnipesaukee and building mansions in Belmont, Mass. next to daddy's mansion. All that war stuff is for the little people dontcha know. But they'll supposedly "support the troops" and keeping pumping gas into their SUVs!Interestingly, Ross "Rocky" Anderson, the Mayor of Salt Like City, who endorsed Romney in 2002 in his run against Jill Stein and others, is against the war and is quite loud about it: ["Salt Lake Mayor's Anti-War Stance Reverberates Beyond Conservative Utah"].

Friday, August 12, 2005

Cindy Sheehan: American HeroineThere is nothing worse than dealing with a death in the family. And we, as Americans, feel for all the families who have lost loved ones in our "war on terrorism," Afghanistan, or the invasion of Iraq, depending on how you look at the issue. It is even more heartbreaking because while we understand that the action in Afghanistan may have some legitimacy, the invasion of Iraq did not. It was completely unnecessary.Which makes it all the more painful to watch ordinary American Cindy Sheehan camped out outside the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, holding her own personal vigil and gaining support from millions of Americans. Sheehan lost her son Casey in the Iraqi invasion and is now ripping mad [and sad] about the death of her son. She met with Bush about 15 months ago. At the time, Sheehan reportedly said while she wasn't supportive of the invasion, she understood why her son went. Now, with the Downing Street Memo revelations and bodies starting to pile up, she wants another meeting. Bush has not surprisingly refused; he is probably thinking since he already met with her once, he doesn't owe her another meeting. Conservative talk show hosts have been asking proponents of the invasion to go down to Crawford themselves and some have been insolent and obnoxious in their behavior towards Sheehan and her friends.So, she has been speaking, holding rallies, running TV ads [Raw Story], and is just plain not giving up. It is impressive to see and, frankly, surprising to see, considering how bad the media is these days. But since it is a slow news month, and reporters are trapped at the president's "working vacation," it isn't that surprising. Nothing goes on during those four to five weeks of August when the president hangs out at his ranch ... and you can include in that the lack of action in August 2001 when Bush was warned via memo that Usama Bin Ladin was planning terrorist attacks on the United States using airliners.But I digress. Cindy Sheehan is an American Heroine. It takes a lot of guts and integrity to camp out outside the president's home these days to protest the invasion and occupation of Iraq and wonder why your son died for such a "noble cause." With all these new laws that have been passed, I'm a bit shocked they haven't "disappeared" her yet. As well, I'm surprised more anti-war protesters didn't think of this before. I have a bad feeling that this is going to build and build and build and build and build ...

A guilty pleasureOkay, I admit it: I'm totally wrapped up in this "Rock Star: INXS" show.Yeah, I know, I wrote some bad things about the show in the past. But, since its airing, I have been watching it almost every night.First, some history. Australian rock band INXS lose their singer to a kinky sexual suicide. Rumors are that Terrence Trent D'Arby, a friend of the lost singer, Michael Hutchence, will replace him. D'Arby does - for one show only - and remains in oblivion.A few years later, INXS tour with an unknown singer and play small clubs around the country [The "Just for Kicks" tour]. The tour apparently went okay, although they decide to ditch the singer [who was that guy?] and lay low for awhile.Then, they decide to go the way of the reality show which could've been potentially embarrassing ... and humiliating.However, it hasn't been.The theme is this: A slew of singers show up at auditions across the country [the Boston one was held at Cambridge's Middle East Downstairs] and then the final 15 hang out in a mansion, practice covers and INXS songs with a killer house band, and then are judged by the public on their performances.On Monday you see behind the scenes from the mansion. On Tuesday, the singers play their chosen covers for the night. The public votes on the performances. And then, on the last night of the week, Wednesday, the bottom three vote getters get a chance to perform an INXS song, often with band members, and then the band decides to eliminate - or keep - those singers they think can fit in.The song selection can vary from classic rock, to post punk, to obscure current single or 1970s soul. And the INXS songs are often their hits ... although last week the band threw Brandon the obscure "Don't Lose Your Head," from the amazing "Elegantly Wasted" album [one I love playing loud in my car during commutes] and he completely effed up the lyrics. It seemed as though the band was expecting that which is why they gave him a hard one. I didn't like his vibe very much anyway. It would be a better fit for the Black Crows.Despite the emphasis on "rock star," it has been a pretty interesting show. Most of the singers came to this from different perspectives. Some were from off-Broadway, others from struggling rock bands. One guy was living in his car.Many of the singers were pretty easy to peg: There is the black guy with the Mohawk who sings like he is in Living Colour; there are the women who sing just like Janis Joplin or Grace Slick. There is the Stonesy southern rocker and the post-punk Nirvana dude. There are a lot of folks wailing notes with their voice when they should be trying to sing for the song. One of the great things about Hutchence was the fact that while he had charisma, he also sang for the song. Since he co-wrote most of them, that wasn't hard to do. But, this band doesn't need a Celine Dion rocker.There have been some pretty interesting performances. Last week, for example, Suzie, this blonde from Toronto who ends up in the bottom three almost every week, played an amazing version of "Losing My Religion." Shockingly, the public voted her again in the bottom three. The band has consistently told her to stay put, which shows that they like something about her to keep her in the competition. Marty did a great acoustic version of The Killer's "Mr. Brightside."But at the same time, it is clear that some of these singers are actually going to make it to the final. So many of them just didn't fit in with what we would perceive to be a new INXS. I can tell you as a fan of the band that there aren't many who I think will fit in. Personally, I like Suzie, although I don't think she will be in the final. I like another woman too who has these very long dreadlocks, Jordis, but she seems a bit too soul for the band. I also like Marty, this kinda Kurt Cobain wannabe. But, I think the guy who will end up being picked is the guy who was living in his car: J.D. Fortune. In the end, he seems to be the best fit. We'll see what happens.Yeah, it is a bit silly, but this show is fun. And, I finally found a "reality" show that I can enjoy.The band members even have a blog here: ["Rock Star: INXS blog"]. Bassist Garry Beers entered this into a recent post:

Last Friday night, I headed down to the House Of Blues where Dave Navarro's band, Camp Freddy, were playing. The band is incredible and included guys from The Cult, Steve Jones from the Pistols, Slash and members of Cypress Hill. Jordis even jumped up and sang a Clash song which she rocked!

Very interesting. It is good to see that Steve Jones is still playing. That's right!

New Hampshire, 2008While there has been some polling of the 2008 campaign, ARG released some of the first New Hampshire primary numbers for 2008 last week here: ["McCain Leads Among Republicans in New Hampshire"]. So it is McCain, Gingrich and Romney.First, let's take Sen. John McCain. This is no surprise ... but 39 percent so early? Wowie zowie. Plus, he gets 37 percent of registered Republicans and 45 percent of undeclareds [or what New Hampshire calls independents]. What makes this so impressive is that the standard logic in 2004 was that the bulk of McCain's support was from undeclareds. Those on the ground know that this wasn't entirely true; while McCain had a lot of support from indies, he also had a lot of support from rank-and-file Republicans. These high numbers mean nothing more than name recognition at this point and with 32 percent "undecided," it is still anyone's game. But it is still impressive. McCain is still wishy-washy about running. He hasn't been to the state in a while but most think he will run.However, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 14 percent? This is a surprise. The Newster wants to run. He is telling everyone he wants to run. And why not? If you have a bunch of rich friends to give you millions, you are basically on a two-year holiday talking politics and staying in fancy hotels. Who wouldn't want to do that? Gingrich has only been to the state once, on a three-day swing through the state to pimp his most recent book. He hasn't been here since and there isn't much out there about him considering a run. The flip side to Gingrich's high early numbers is the fact that he really hasn't run in a competitive race in almost three decades and his arrogance will be eaten alive up here in the hustings of New Hampshire [as well as Iowa, and it looks like both will hold their first votes]. Plus, as I posted on MyDD earlier this week: ["Interestingly ..."], there is still bad blood from when he and Clinton went through that whole government shut down/playing chicken thing back in the mid-1990s. Despite the perception that Republicans are "anti-big government," a lot of Republicans have family members who rely on assistance, whether it is VA benefits, heating subsidies, or whatever. It backfired on Republicans here when Gingrich went on that tear and they almost lost seats in the election cycle following the shut down. Gingrich won't be the nominee ... but he'll have a lot of fun with his campaign expense account.Now, to Gov. Willard Mitt Romney [he doesn't go by Willard anymore just "W." but I don't really know why]. Oh boy. "Guy Smiley" himself. No one should be surprised by his third place placing even if it is only 8 percent. He is south of the border. We watch Boston TV news up here. He lives in Wolfeboro during the summer, in a palatial Winnipesaukee lakefront home protected by Mass. staties. Why wouldn't he be in third? But what has he really done as governor in Massachusetts and what does he plan to do as president? No one really knows. Maybe that is why he is in third, too. Keep smiling Willard, keep smiling.Other numbers? Well, they are nothing to write home about: Majority Bill Frist at 5 percent, and Sen. George Allen and Rep. Tom Tancredo at 1 percent, all three of which have made trips. Allen, as I posted recently, didn't make such a good impression; The Weirs Times had a write-up on Tancredo's swing through the Lakes Region, his third trip to the state. He is good and harsh on the illegal immigration stuff but some have said he comes across as a bit extreme. Sen. Sam Brownback and Sen. Chuck Hagel got goose-eggs, despite trips to New Hampshire and good media coverage: ["Campaign 2008"]. And is Gov. Mike Huckabee even running? What about VP Dick Cheney? I heard some things ...

Wednesday, August 3, 2005

Catching upWhile I love my computer and the ability to check out almost any newspaper in the world from my couch, sometimes, my favorites bin gets overrun. This morning, I realized that I still hadn't posted some stories I meant to. So, here is another post about clearing out my favorites bin.

In three court-ordered evaluations, the defendant stated he was fleeing subterranean beings he called "hemadrones" when he carjacked a commercial vehicle near a Nevada City, Calif., gas station and then crashed into Reynolds' service vehicle. ...

The evidentiary burden will fall on the defense to prove that Krause, a known methamphetamine addict with a history of drug-related arrests, was suffering from a pre-existing mental condition that either prevented him from understanding the consequences of his actions or knowing the difference between right or wrong.

Or, maybe he really was running from flesh-eating aliens! Who actually knows?

Recently, I was in Las Vegas for a radio conference. I didn't watch any television while I was there ... but I probably should have. Check out this report: ["Area 51 Declassified"].

I've linked this on the side but I forgot to mention that Mark Jurkowitz has taken over Media Log for Dan Kennedy. The site is a bit different but still high quality. You can check out the new Media Log here: ["Media Log"].

Speaking of former President Carter, I was watching a television special on energy on PBS and they sent viewers to their site to look at what past officials had done to try and make the United States energy efficient. Here is one of Carter's speeches from 1977: ["Primary Sources: The President's Proposed Energy Policy "]

Our consumption of oil would keep going up every year. Our cars would continue to be too large and inefficient. Three-quarters of them would continue to carry only one person -- the driver -- while our public transportation system continues to decline. We can delay insulating our houses, and they will continue to lose about 50 percent of their heat in waste.

It is worth a read because of how bold it is. It is worth a second read for how visionary it is. For all that was bad about the Carter Administration - and there were some bad things; if he could have gotten some of these things approved, he would be a political saint right now. While I was only 11 at the time, I remember these days like they were yesterday. I remember when gas went from 30 cents to 60 cents and the world turned upside down. I remember my dad being out of work seasonally and trying to find construction work. In some ways, it isn't as harsh a life right now; in other ways, it is. And, in many other ways, it could become harsher again.

Thank you for visiting

I'm Tony Schinella, an award-winning newspaper editor/journalist and radio broadcaster, currently living in Concord, N.H. This profile links to a number of my blogs including Politizine.com, the Taste the Floor radio program website, OurConcord.com, as well as media analysis and an analysis of the 2000 election. Opinions and comments are my own and not those of my employer. Feel free to participate. Email: politizine-at-yahoo.com. Copyright, 2002-2017, Tony Schinella

Winner, Media Award, from the Concord Grange #322 on April 30, 2012, for work with Concord NH Patch. It was the Grange's first ever media award. "No matter what it is, (Tony's) out covering it. He's honest ... he tells the truth and he doesn't fudge it, no matter what," Dick Patten, Concord Grange. View the video clip from the event by clicking here.

Winner, five New England Newspaper & Press Association awards for 2010 including third place award for General Excellence; second place award for Local Election Coverage; second and third place awards, in separate class divisions, for Educational Reporting; and second place for Overall Design, for work with the Belmont Citizen-Herald and WickedLocalBelmont.com.

"Tony Schinella is one of New England’s journalistic gems – a reporter’s reporter and sharp observer of anything that sparks his interest." - David Bernstein, political reporter, the Boston Phoenix

Finalist, Best of Gatehouse 2008 Newspaper of the Year [Non-daily], Belmont Citizen-Herald.

Winner, 2007 Appreciation Award from the Concord Pineconia Grange for work with non-profit groups and community service.

Winner, 2005 New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters Golden Mike Award in the Feature Story category for "Trains," an audio feature about the Hooksett Lions Club Model Train Event, for WKXL 1450 news radio.

On problems with talk radio, from a column published in The Winchester Star: "Schinella has written a worthwhile column on the demise of talk radio." - Dan Kennedy, The Boston Phoenix, Dec. 6, 2002.

On the lack of local talent in the Boston talk radio market: "[Schinella's] a bright, articulate guy, and he espouses a hard-edged political view that's seldom heard these days." - Dan Kennedy, The Boston Phoenix, "The Death of Talk Radio," May 8, 1997.